The present invention relates generally to inkjet printers and, more particularly, to print media trays utilized in such printers.
Printers of various types are virtually universally known. They are operated daily in thousands of business organizations, university campuses and homes. Many such printers utilize a front-loading print media input/output tray. Often, the tray projects from the printer housing, thereby increasing the space, or footprint, occupied by the printer. Such an increased footprint may be tolerable during periods of printer operation but can present problems during times of printer non-operation.
In this regard, packaging and shipping costs are sometimes increased because of the additional space occupied by the forward projecting tray. In addition, increased costs are realized by wholesalers and retailers in the form of increased shelf space. Of course, the large footprint is inconvenient for the printer user because of the space occupied by the projecting tray during periods of printer non-operation.
The above limitations have been recognized and attempts have been made to mitigate them. In some cases, the printer and media tray are packaged and shipped separately in an attempt to reduce container size. While this technique can lead to some space savings, it introduces the disadvantage of requiring assembly of the printer before operation and in addition, runs the risk of the tray getting lost in the process.
In view of the foregoing, it would be desirable to have a printer and print media tray combination having a reduced footprint relative to that of conventional printers without a need to separate the printer and tray during periods of non-operation. Desirably, such a combination would enable reduced packaging and shipping costs while increasing value to the user by reducing product footprint during non-operation periods.
According to the present invention, there is provided a printer having a housing, including a bottom wall, a front wall, and a cover pivotally attached to the housing and rotatable between an open and a closed position. A tray is provided for supporting print media from below wherein the tray is pivotally attached to the housing for movement between a printer operational position wherein the print media tray is pivoted to a position for supporting an imaging media and a printer non-operational position, wherein the tray is pivoted to a position wherein the front wall contains the tray and the cover may be positioned overlying the tray and the tray is disposed between the cover and the front wall when the tray is in the printer non-operational position.
The present invention affords several advantages. Conservation of valuable shipping and shelf space is achieved. In addition, flexibility of print media tray length can be realized so that a variety of differing media sizes may be utilized by the printer. In addition, when the tray is positioned inside the cover the tray functions as a compression member to support the printer structurally during bulk-pack and as a carriage restraint during shipping.
Other aspects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.